Saed Hindash/The Star-LedgerMartin Brodeur has played in 51 of 53 games for the Devils. His 32 wins leads the league.Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick has played in 48 of L.A.'s 53 games this season, before the Kings' game tonight in Boston against the Bruins. Henrik Lundqvist has played in 48 of the 54 games the Rangers have played. San Jose's Evgeny Nabokov has played in 47 of 54 games for San Jose, the same as Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff and Phoenix' Ilya Bryzgalov. Ryan Miller, who missed a couple games with injury, has played in 46 of Buffalo's 53 games, the same as Roberto Luongo, who has played 46 of 53 for Vancouver.

"Maybe back seven years ago I was the only one playing so much, but now you see a lot more goalies doing it,'' said Marty Brodeur, who has played in 51 of the Devils' 53 games (and who will start Sunday against the Kings, according to coach Jacques Lemaire). "And not all young goalies, either. They’re guys right in their prime. You might as well utilize their presence out there.''

It is an age-old question with Brodeur, of course, as to whether he plays too much in the regular season. He has always defended his workload, and now, other teams are doing what the Devils have done, riding their No. 1 guy almost every night.

"Teams are counting on their money players,'' said Brodeur, who leads the league with 32 wins and whose 2.21 goals-against average is 5th-best. "Because most of these goalies are at the top of the food chain, as far as salaries, so they’re using them right now.''

Reporters used to kid with Brodeur that his dream was to play all 82 games in a season. No one ever thought it possible. But the way teams are using their No. 1 goalies nowadays, it may not be impossible at all.

Jacques Lemaire, asked if a goalie could play all 82 games, joked of Brodeur, "Well, he can’t now – he missed two, right?''

But the coach did say it was possible to conceive of a goalie playing in every game.

"Maybe,'' he said. "I would say it depends on the schedule -- how the schedule would be. Like, today (Brodeur)’s on the ice because there’s no morning skate tomorrow. So you could go a long way with this, a long way, without him getting tired. Because he’s mentally strong. Like I always say, if he would vomit after every period because he’s nervous, he couldn’t do this.''

Still, Lemaire admitted, "It would be hard to be part of 80 games.''

"It would be hard. Especially today, you’ve got the traveling... it’s a fast game. I’m sure Marty’s a little more tired after games now than when he was younger.''

Brodeur, of course would do it if it was up to him.

"Definitely,'' he said. "If they would give me an opportunity, definitely.

"I understand the whole process of not playing every game,'' he said. "It’s hard, first of all, staying healthy and not getting hurt for that long a period of time, it’s pretty hard to do. And the travel, and this, and doing well, and not doing well. You lose whatever, so many games in a row, and sometimes just that little change, a little break, helps. So to play 82 games, for somebody to give you the workload for 82 games – I mean, you have to be there for six, seven months, maybe more – it’s tough to do.''

But, he said, he comes to the rink wanting to play every day -- even on the second game of a back-to-back, even if he's a little under the weather with a cold, or nursing a minor injury.

"I show up, like anybody here, to play hockey,'' he said. "For me, all my career, I show up, I want to play hockey. I have the luxury to play a lot – I’m fortunate because there’s a lot of goalies would like to have that opportunity to play this much hockey. But I don’t see how my job is harder than Zach (Parise). I mean, look at him work, man, I’m tired for him sometimes. The way he skates, backchecks, gets hit, go back, power play, PK, I sit there for – definitely it’s a different kind of exercise, it’s mental, I can’t sit on the bench, you can’t talk to anybody. It makes it harder.''

The Devils have tried to give Brodeur rest by having him skip practices at times, and Lemaire has decided another way is to pull Brodeur from games perhaps more often than he might have in the past.

"If I see the guys are not at their best that night, I’m going to take him out,'' Lemaire said. "Why leave him there and make him suffer what I suffer?''

Of course, this is an Olympic year, and the odds are, Brodeur will be the No. 1 goalie for Canada, which will be more games, and more stress, he'll have to deal with. So, if Canada goes deep in the tournament, will Brodeur need more rest in the post-Olympic stretch?

"We’ll cross that bridge when it comes,'' Brodeur said. "We are doing well now physically, who knows what’s going to happen in the Olympics. It’s only six games in 14 days, not a huge thing, compared to what the NHL schedule is. Definitely different pressure, but we’ll see. I want to be the best for the team and whatever that takes, that takes.''
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Nick Palmieri was sent back to Lowell after playing in six games, but Patrick Davis, who came up from Lowell with Palmieri, remains with the Devils. Davis scored his first NHL goal Friday in the win over Toronto.

"You know, some kids, when you bring them up, they play at that (high) level,'' Lemaire said. "They play really good because it’s the first game, they’re excited to play. And then some of them drop the second game. Other guys they stay there for two to three games, and then they start to drop, drop and then you say, ‘Oh, he’s not ready.’

"Him, he played two good games, dropped a bit, leveled up, and raised his game back,'' Lemaire said of Davis. "So it looks better – let’s say he’s more ready than the other ones.''

Davis said he was caught by surprise when Palmieri was sent down, but he said he wasn't affected by it. Asked if he feels a little alone without Palmieri, he said no.

"It’s just part of the business here, there’s guys coming back (from injury) and you never know when your time’s going to be up, but you’ve just got to make the best of it,'' he said.

Davis said Palmieri played well for the Devils and will be back soon if he works hard and continues to play well in Lowell. However, Palmieri's departure does affect Davis in one way: Palmieri drove the pair down from Lowell when they were called up, and Davis doesn't have a car in New Jersey. He got a ride to practice Saturday from Vladimir Zharkov, who also was called up from Lowell this season and is staying in the same hotel, but he said he will have to rent a car now.